


Bookworm

by allixiler



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:55:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29022333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allixiler/pseuds/allixiler
Summary: As the Sanctuary's notorious reader, Simon takes an interest in you.
Relationships: Simon (Walking Dead: Saviors)/Original Female Character(s), Simon (Walking Dead: Saviors)/You
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	Bookworm

‘Suddenly it wasn’t only a personal thing to me. I could picture hundreds of boys living on the wrong sides of cities, boys with black eyes who jumped at their own shadows.’

The room was quiet and still as you were reading through your book. The only noise that accompanied your reading was the shuffle of paper each time you turned the page. You had one leg tucked under the other as you continued read at the kitchen table;

‘Hundreds of boys who maybe watched sunsets and looked at the stars and ached for something better. I could see boys going down under street lights because they were mean and tough and hated the world, and it was too late to tell them there was still good in it…’

Your reading session was suddenly interrupted by a hand pushing your book down from view. You looked up from where you were sitting to see a large, muscular frame grinning at you;

“Hello there,” Simon greeted.

“Hi,” You replied; “I didn’t hear you come in,”

He shrugged;

“I’m sneaky that way,” He laughed. He turned his attention and scanned the book in your hands; “What’s my favorite bookworm reading this week?”

You dog-eared the page you were on and shyly handed him the somewhat battered novel. He always teased you about your reading habits. You had loved to read since, well, you knew how to. You gave him a look, but attempted to hide the blush on your cheeks. You had it bad for him.

He always joked about how each week you had a new book…or at least, sometimes it was a new book. You were used to his kidding antics now, but at first you were rather self conscious about it. You still sometimes were hesitant to read in front of others. Truth was, Simon found your intelligence and love of reading VERY attractive.

He took the rather small book from you and raised a brow;

“You’re still reading The Outsiders?” He questioned.

You shook your head and took it back from him;

“Not still. Again. I finished it, but the quantity of my book collection isn’t exactly that great,” You responded, referring to the fact that books weren’t that common to find nowadays.

Simon’s eyes narrowed slightly and he glanced to the side. The wheels in his head turning. When he didn’t respond, you continued;

“Did you need something, Si?” You asked.

His eyes snapped back to you;

“Oh, yeah,” He said remembering why he had interrupted you; “So, I don’t want to freak you out, but you do realize you missed the meeting earlier, right?”

Your eyes widened and your heart sank into your stomach. You had completely forgotten that you had a board meeting with Negan. You groaned;

“Shit. I totally forgot about it. That’s the second one I’ve missed this month,” You admitted; “I just took a break and I sat down with this and…” You trailed off, tossing the book on the table.

Simon chuckled;

“Ah. The curse of a damn good book strikes again,” He proclaimed; “But I got your back. I told him you were up late last night working. I think you’re off the hook,”

You sighed in relief, very touched that Simon would be willing to lie on your behalf just to save you some trouble.

“You didn’t have to do that…but thank you,” You said smiling brightly at him; “Did I miss anything important?”

His heart fluttered at your beaming smile and glittery eyes. God, you were beautiful. He cleared his throat to redirect his focus before shaking his head;

“Not really. Just a group of us are going on a run tomorrow,” He recalled.

You nodded softly and stood up from the table, realizing you needed to get busy;

“I guess I need to get back to work,” You stated; “Thanks again. You really saved me,”

He handed you your book with a warm smirk;

“Don’t mention it, babe,” He flirted; “Maybe next time put the Curtis brothers off to another time?” He jokingly suggested.

You rolled your eyes, another hard blush creeping onto your cheeks before you dashed out of the room;

“Yeah, sure.”

He laughed as you left. He was thinking about the run tomorrow and he had an idea.

—

The next night, you had just arrived in your room for the evening when there was a knock at your door. Curious to see who could possibly need you this late in the day, you answered promptly. You were more than delighted to see Simon standing at your door. He looked tired, but was smiling like no tomorrow;

“Hi,” You said surprised that he was here. That’s when you noticed the box in his hands; “What’s in the box?”

You moved aside so he could come into your room. He walked in and set the box on your neatly made bed;

“Just a few things I found today that I thought you might like,” He claimed; “Hopefully you can put at least a few of these to good use,”

You looked at him with a confused expression. He motioned to the box;

“Go on. Open it!” He said excitedly.

You tentatively opened the box, pushing the wings back to reveal something that was like gold to you;

“No way,” You clamored; “I never thought I’d see so many books ever again!”

There was at least 12 books inside the box, ranging from autobiographies to graphic fiction. Some of them were a little worn, but overall in good shape. Simon gave you a second to process before speaking up;

“So you know the run we went on today? Well, I went through and picked up as many as I could find,” He explained; “I’m not sure what some of them are since a few are missing covers,”

You were shocked, overwhelmed, and bursting with happiness all at once. It meant so much that he would go out of his way to find something that you loved. Not to mention, a whole box full. You were jaw dropped. There were some timeless classics and a few that you have never heard of, but excited to try.

“I figured those would last you a few months at least,” He continued; “If nothing else, they’ll look nice on your pretty bookshelf,”

You looked at him, his eyes full of anticipation for your reaction.

“I don’t even know what to say,” You gushed. Your face told it all, but you couldn’t just not say anything; “Thank you so much,”

The smile had yet to leave his face. It felt so good to do something for you. He really liked you and admired how different you were from anyone he had ever known.

“You’re welcome,” He chirped; “Anything for you,”

Your heart swelled at his comment. Did he really feel the same way about you? You had read dozens of romantic novels in your life. You had read scenarios like this a thousand times. Could ‘the one’ really have been in front of you all along?

“You don’t understand how much this means to me,” You confessed. In a leap of faith, you just let him know how you felt; “I don’t think you know just how crazy I am about you,”

He took a step closer, his hand pushing your hair from your eyes;

“I think I’ve got a pretty good idea,” He purred.

You lifted yourself on your toes to kiss him. He kissed back passionately, knowing he couldn’t let this chance slip through his fingers. He cupped the side of your face as fireworks were going off in both of your heads. You pulled away after a moment, feeling like you could literally collapse into a puddle at his feet.

He was speechless, so you fired off a sassy retort;

“Never thought you’d be interested for the Sanctuary’s nerdy reader.”

He shrugged, smiling proudly;

“What can I say? I have a thing for women who dig Ernest Hemingway.”

You laughed at his response as he left you to be with your new collection of reading material. Truth was, you could barely even comprehend the words you were skimming over. You were too in love to even finish a page.

Maybe, just maybe, he was the ending you were looking for after all.


End file.
